Slow Start Dooms Brandywine At Williamson

MEDIA, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine fell into a 16-0 hole and could not dig out as the Lions suffered an 81-76 defeat at Williamson College of the Trades on Monday night.

The Lions missed their first 10 shots from the field during the first seven minutes of the game, allowing Williamson to build a 16-point edge.

Brandywine fought to get back into the game, using an 8-2 spurt to slice the deficit to 10 points.

Pat Gallagher's (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) three-pointer made the score 26-17 and Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park) followed with a pair of free throws at the 2:26 mark, but the Mechanics netted the final five points of the half to lead 31-19 at the break.

The Lions opened the second half with nine of the teams' first 12 points to climb within six and brought the deficit to within five on two occasions during the first five minutes, the last of which came on a Naifes Smalls (Philadelphia, Pa./PE&T Charter) layup at the 15:44 mark, but each time Brandywine mounted a rally, Williamson had an answer.

James Hill buried back-to-back triples to push the Williamson lead back to 12, and, after both teams traded baskets, Andrew Merrell sank two free throws to give the Mechanics their largest lead of the half at 13 points.

Behind the hot-shooting Isaiah Wilmore (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin), Brandywine put together a comeback during the game's final minutes. Wilmore drilled a jumper and followed with two-straight triples, making the score 73-66 with 1:22 to play.

Brandywine would get as close as five when Shafi Mohammad (Philadelphia, Pa./Hawbridge School (N.C.)) put in a layup with 22 seconds remaining, but Kevin Whitefield answered with a pair of free throws for Williamson and the Mechanics held on.

Wilmore scored 24 of his game-high 25 points during the second half. He shot 9-of-15 from the field and pulled down four rebounds. Joining Wilmore in double figures was Smalls, who poured in 14 points and added six assists and four steals.

Spencer also had four steals, while Mohammad chipped in eight points and eight rebounds, all in the second half.

Williamson, which held a 41-32 edge on the boards and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, put four players in double-figure scoring, led by James Hill, who netted 18 points.

Brandywine (1-2) is back on the road Monday, Nov. 28 against Widener at 7:00 pm.